The warrior is cute, and cutting A Japanese orphan schooled in the martial arts battles evil in a fun live-action affair.

Every female samurai warrior should be so lucky: Whooshing through the woods in pursuit of cackling villains, leaping from cliffs into the thick of enemy brigades, Azumi is constantly confronted by compliments.

"You are truly cute!" one sword-slinging ninja exclaims, just before the object of his adoration lobs off his limbs.

"Such beauty!" an evil warlord remarks, struck by the keen-eyed cutie's presence, and then her blade.

A wallopingly fun live-action affair about a beautiful orphan (Aya Ueto) schooled in the martial arts by a sage master, Azumi abounds with splashing blood, deftly choreographed fights, and a marvelous mix of solemnity and shtick. Cult director Ryuhei Kitamura moves his cameras around like a kid with attention deficit disorder, while the story - set in feudal Japan - frames its themes of friendship, honor, destiny and vengeance with majestic shots (lone figures standing against long vistas) and a pop-ish electronic score.

As Azumi and her fellow warriors dash across Japan in search of despots, they encounter legions of henchmen and nefarious knights. The movie's ber-nemesis is a giggly maniac who looks like Marilyn Manson and who parades around slicing and dicing with one hand and sniffing a long-stemmed rose with the other.

Even he has kind words for Azumi's beauteous heroine - in fact, you could say he loses his head over her.

Azumi *** 1/2 (out of four stars)

Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura. With Aya Ueto, Shun Oguri and Hiroki Narimiya. In Japanese with subtitles.

Running time: 2 hours, 8 mins.

Parent's guide: No MPAA rating (violence, mayhem, arterial spray)

Playing at: 10 tonight at the Bridge, 4012 Walnut St., and 10 p.m. Saturday at the Ritz East, Second Street between Chestnut and Walnut Streets.

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Below is a schedule of today's Philadelphia Film Festival events. Unless noted, day-of-show tickets are $7 for matinees (until 4 p.m.), $9 evenings, and available all day at the venue box office. For information, ticket sales, and box-office locations, call 267-765-9700, Ext. 3, or visit www.phillyfests.com. For reviews, stories, and a link to the festival Web site, go to www.philly.com.

Noon The Classic (South Korea). Ritz East, Second Street between Chestnut and Walnut Streets.

12:15 p.m. The Debutants (Chile). Ritz East.

2:30 p.m. Kill Me Tender (Spain). Ritz East. Guest: director Ramn de Espaa.

2:45 p.m. S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine (Cambodia/France). Ritz East.